The present invention is directed to privacy fence inserts for chain link fences and, more particularly, to fence slats comprising an elongated body preferably comprising at least one substantially tubular portion, a non-tubular portion and at least one stop for inhibiting undesired movement of the slat after insertion in a fence.
Chain link fences have been widely used for many years to satisfy fencing requirements. While they provide acceptable strength and durability over many years, they do not provide privacy or serve as a windbreak due to their apertured construction. Various inserts, typically referred to as xe2x80x9cslatsxe2x80x9d, have been suggested and manufactured for increasing the privacy of a chain link fence, as well as serving as a windbreak. Many early arrangements were designed to be directly connected to the link of the fence and required clamping or bending of a metal slat onto a link of the fence.
One of the inventors of the present invention overcame a problem with slats migrating upwardly and downwardly due to wind or other environmental forces which creates an unfinished uneven appearance, by providing a slat retaining means which extended through a slot in the slats and which is further described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,512,556 to Meglino, issued on Apr. 23, 1985. Other attempts to maintain the slats properly disposed in the chain link fence include a separate bottom member which attaches to the bottom of the slats. A drawback with these slats is that they require a cross-member which increases the overall cost of the fence and are more time consuming to install.
Other attempts to maintain the slats properly within a chain link fence include U.S. Pat. No. 5,458,319 to Mackay which discloses a retainer device which is inserted in a groove in a slat and attaches to a link of a fence, and U.S. Pat. No. 5,275,380 to Barsby which discloses a corrugated slat having a raised rounded retaining tab having a groove which readily engages a link of a fence in a snap-fit manner. Drawbacks with the slats disclosed in Mackay and Barsby is that the slat disclosed in Mackay requires a separate element which increases the slats cost and is time consuming to install, and the slat disclosed in Barsby while easily inserted due to its design may also be easily removed from the fence.
The present inventors have disclosed other possible solutions to this problem in U.S. Pat. No. 5,799,929 wherein fence inserts are disclosed comprising outwardly extending stops wherein one of the wires of a chain link fence is positionable in a passageway defined by the outwardly extending stops. The various embodiments disclosed in the present inventor""s earlier U.S. Pat. No. 5,799,929 can be readily inserted and provide significant resistance to removal, however, they pose manufacturing obstacles. For example, in order to integrally form the stops in a slat of the type shown in FIG. 3 of applicant""s earlier patent, a portion of a stamp needed to be inserted into a tubular portion of the slat following extrusion but before the slat had cooled entirely. The proper alignment and insertion of the stamp into a hot, non-hardened fence slat can pose manufacturing difficulties. Therefore, it is particularly desirable to provide a slat which has the advantages of an easy to insert locking feature, yet which is easier to manufacture.
Various embodiments comprise a body portion and at least one, but preferably a plurality of substantially tubular portions and an intermediate non-tubular portion which can be slightly curved, flat, segmented, and/or combinations thereof. The non-tubular intermediate portions are readily adaptable for stamping before the slat has hardened following extrusion since two portions of a stamp can be readily applied to opposing surfaces of the non-tubular portion without the need for prior insertion into a tubular section.
Preferred embodiments of the present invention comprise fence slats having a body portion defined by a first tubular section, an intermediate portion and a second tubular section integrally formed with the intermediate portion. At least one and preferably a plurality of outwardly extending stops are formed in the intermediate portion and are spaced from each other to define a passageway therebetween. When the slat is received in a channel of a chain link fence, a portion of a link is positionable in the passageway to inhibit removal or undesired movement of the slat due to wind, vibration, vandalism, etc.
In one preferred embodiment, at least one of the stops comprises a tapered surface which facilitate insertion of the slat into a channel of a chain link fence. Other stops of this and other embodiments of the present invention are configured as a pair of raised circular tabs.
According to still other embodiments of the present invention, the intermediate portion between two substantially tubular portions are disposed proximate, both the front and rear surfaces of the slat. According to this embodiment of the present invention, the stops are preferably disposed on both the front and rear of the slat and, therefore, provide a slat which is effectively reversible.